The Chaining Outrage
The situation created by the German decision to chain British Prisoners •has not been' cleared up as we write, but there is still some hope that, as a result of the protest and representations made by the British Government through Switzerland as the Protecting Power, the original barbarity and the retaliation it provoked on the part of the British Commonwealth (the active part falling mainly to Canada), will be abandoned. There is not a shadow even of theoretical justification for the German action, which was apparently excused by the charge that British troops in the heat of a commando raid temporarily bound the arms of a few German prisoners. That is a perfectly legitimate military measure, to which the German retaliation on war-prisoners in Germany bears no relation at all. At the same time, few people in this country are happy at the action taken here, which is that of reprisal for reprisal, or are satisfied that it is the best means of striking back at Germany for her savage treatment of innocent prisoners. Many reasons have been given for Germany's action, such as that she desires to fan hatred against the British, or wishes to deter us from making more raids on the Continent. There is a further point that has not been sufficiently considered—that Germany may have actually planned to provoke us into chaining prisoners and to secure an admission that we do so, in order to get credence for her propaganda that we mis-use our prisoners and that for Germans and those who fight for her it is better to die than to surrender. But whichever of these motives have weighed most with the Nazis we should avoid playing into their hands by adopting their methods. We cannot compete successfully with them in brutality. We do not help British prisoners by chaining the German. In such a matter we can only play our true part by acting according to our own honour and dignity and disdaining to copy the enemy's misdeeds, dealing out retribution by the greater daring of our bombing and more deter- mined attacks in legitimate war. Here is a situation where Britain should punish the enemy by every proper war-like means, but not by stooping to his level.
